Make Sauerkraut in a Bucket

Sauerkraut at home is just two ingredients – cabbage and salt. But you have to get the right salt, it should say “pickling salt” or “canning salt.” Here’s an example.

You will need something to weigh the sauerkraut down as it ferments. You can use the standard sauerkraut stone disks, or something as simple as a plate weighed down with a gallon jug of water.

Use a Food Safe Bucket

There is some disagreement about whether the orange Home Depot buckets are food safe. If you have access to a bucket that is explicitly labeled as food safe, which Home Depot buckets are not, it’s best to use that.

5 Gallon Bucket Sauerkraut

First make sure your bucket and weight are clean as can be. Soap, hot water, and plenty of scrubbing will get you there.

Chop up your cabbages. 2 heads will make about 2 quart jars, so adjust as necessary based on your hunger for the Kraut.

Knead in 2 tsp of picking salt per pound of cabbage. Kraut kneading is similar to wringing out a washcloth.

The salt will draw moisture out of the chopped cabbage. Don’t waste these juices, you need them for the fermentation process! You should have enough cabbage water to completely submerge your chopped cabbage without adding any extra..

Decant your cabbage with its juices into your bucket. The liquid should just cover the cabbage. To make sure it stays under, submerge the sauerkraut using your plate with a weight on top.

If you do need to add water to bring your water level up above the cabbage level, make sure you use water free of chlorine. Almost all tap water contains chlorine, so you will either want to boil it off then let the water cool, or use distilled water from the store.

As your sauerkraut ferments, check it every few days. Scrape off any scum you see, but don’t agonize about getting it all off – just get as much as you can.

Keep the Bugs Off

By covering your bucket with cheesecloth, or loosely capping with the lid it came with, you’ll keep insects off and keep most of the smell inside the bucket. Just don’t seal your sauerkraut in, because the CO2 needs to escape. Unless you want carbonated sauerkraut.

4 to 6 Weeks Later

Sauerkraut morphs in flavor as it ages. Typical time for fermentation is between 4 and 6 weeks. Taste it as it matures to see how its flavors are changing. Some people prefer the taste after just 4 weeks, while some like to wait the full 6.

Sauerkraut Shelf Life

Sauerkraut will last for 4 months in the fridge, and can be hot water canned in mason jars to preserve them even longer and at room temperature. Check with your canning manual to get exact canning times.

What about Smaller Batches?

You can also make a tiny batch of sauerkraut right inside a mason jar. Discover how over on JarSpot.com.

Yes Home Depot buckets are fine . I have made tons of sauerkraut in them and it turns out Awesome . A dinner plate covers the kraut perfectly and a 1 gal milk jug filled with water weighs the plate down perfectly . Just wash the buckets before you use them .

I found “food grade” buckets at Lowe’s. They are white in color and have the words “food grade” on them. I use them to store flour in for my home baking business. I am going to designate one for making the sauerkraut in.

When I was a kid, one of our neighbors made kraut every year in 50 gallon crocks. He would slice the cabbage out in the barn and bring huge pans of it in to his basement and a couple of us kids took over from there. When the cabbage was added to the crock we had to add x amount of salt and 2 beers and then mash it down with baseball bats.We thought it was cool to have the mashing job and would fight over it. Since all the neighbors got involves we all got some of the finished product. It was the best kraut I ever had. I also got in wicked trouble for getting intoxicated at the age of 10 in that basement. (grinzz)

You say the salt used must be pickling or canning salt, but you don’t say why. Can you elaborate? I ask because I have been using sea salt to make my sauerkraut without any problem. Is it just that you’re trying to eliminate iodine/anti-caking additives?

When I was a kid. The women got together, and chopped the cabbage. They mixed it with reg. table salt with out iodine. Then they filled mason jars all most to the top. Put the lid on very loosely, then set it in a dark place so the sun would not hit it. It fermented right in the jar. Then cleaned the tops. Put the lids on tight, then it went into the cabinet…AND it was GOOD. I do not remember how long it fermented for, though

Go to your local grocery store and ask the bakery for empty frosting buckets. Most stores will give you the buckets and lids for free. The gasket from the lid comes off and works great to seal the cloth around the top of the bucket to keep any pests out. I’ve gotten buckets from Walmart and Sam’s Club also. Frosting buckets hold around 4 gallons.

I use beer / wine making food safe buckets with a lid and an air lock, just the way you would make wine or beer at home. I run the cabbage through a food processor and add 2 tablespoons of canning salt per 5 pounds of cabbage, just weigh an average head of cabbage to know what 5 pounds looks like. Chop the cabbage, throw it in the bucket, add the two tablespoons of salt, and stomp it with an old fashioned potato masher until the juices come out of the cabbage, repeat the process until your bucket is full, place a dinner plate on top, seal the bucket with a lid, insert the air lock and fill the air lock with water. Six weeks later it’s ready to eat. You must ferment the sauerkraut in an air tight container for the anaerobic bacterial action to take place, creating lactic acid. I also add powdered probiotic bacteria such as lactobacillus to ensure quicker fermentation. The faster it ferments, the less chance you will have of spoilage. Nothing beats the taste of homemade sauerkraut canned in Ball Jars to be enjoyed all year long.

I’ve tried to make a small batch of sauerkraut twice now and ended up with a lot of mold on top. Someone at a historical festival giving out samples said that was normal, just scoop off the mold. Yuck. I don’t see anyone here mentioning mold. If I keep it totally submerged will that prevent mold from forming?

So simply cold-packed and fermented without canning you can expect kraut to last 4 months? That’s great! I don’t know if it’ll last much longer than a couple weeks in my household because of the family, but you never know! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!